Loose leaf binder



July 25, 1933. s. B. FREIBERG LOOSE LEAF BINDER Filed Aug. 14, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ono/H 00 ly 1933- s. B. FREIBERG 1,919,784

LOOSE LEAF BINDER Filed Aug. 14, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' ll 'IIIIIIIII\IIII g i i I top 11, sides 12 and 13 and flanges 1 1 and 15.

Patented duty 25, 1933 STANLEY B. FREIBERG, 0F CINCINNATI, OHIO LoosE LEAF BINDER Application filed August 14, 1929. Serial No. 385,884.

' This invention relates to loose leaf binders for use in the same general'manner as d1sclosed in such patents as Martin 1,269,479 and 'JPontius 1, 191,820.

An object of thisinvention is to'obviate certain structural weaknesses inherent in devices ot the species exemplified by said patents, and to that end a separateand distinct species of this general class has been devlsed and will be Xplained herein.

Another object is to provide a device of the character indicated, that may be given a sturdy and rigid structure, that is well adapted to withstand the rough and inconsiderate handling to which devices of this character are generally subjected.

Another object is to provide a device wherein the various cooperating parts, especially the prongs for retaining the sheets, are automatically returned or retained in proper position, so that accidents in which the device may play part, will be ineffective for disarranging the sheets of the device. These and other objects are attained by the means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying drawings in which:

1 is a plan view partly broken away and partly in section of an'open binder embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 1. I Fig. 41 is a sectional view on line 1-4 of Fig. 1.

Fi 5 is an elevational view along line 55 of Fig. 1, parts being broken away.

frame 10 of the device is of substan tially inverted ti-shape and comprises the Mounted at the exterior of each of the sides and above the flanges are reciprocating bars 16 and 17. The bar 16 is so -mounted that it may be reciprocated in the direction of its length and the bar 17 is mounted so it may be reciprocated in the direction of its width. The means for so mounting and forreciproeating said bars may be varied as desired. The bars carry suitable prongs, viz. prongs "18 on bar 16 and prongs 19 on bar 17 in action of arm 25 and lug 27 may oscillate the staggered relation. The prongs are adapted to receive the record sheets 20. The prongs 13 and 19 overlap at their free ends, as shown in 1. The prongs need not bear the irregular spaced relation shown in Fig. 1, but may be evenly spaced or spaced otherwise thanthere shown. v

The means exemplified herein for reciprocating the bars comprises a lever 21, pivoted at 22 on the under side of the top of the frame, and having its free end 23 projecting through the elongated slot 24 in thetop 11, to permit ready oscillation thereof. The lever comprises the arms 25 and 26 adapted to respectively engage separate lugs 27 and 28 associated with the reciprocating bars or the actuthe bar 16and with lug 31 struck from wall or side 12 of the frame may yieldingly retain the bar 16 in its normal position. In Figs. 1 and 3 the bar 16 is shown in shifted or abnormal. position. In order to obviate dislocation of bar 16 relative to side 12, the bar or the wall- 12 may be provided with an elongated slot, extending in the direction of reciprocation of the bar, and a suitable pin orstud may be carried by the unslotted member and may project into the slot. A plurality of such slots and pins may be used if desired. One such pin and. slot arrangement is shown at 32 in Fig. 4. i

The means shown herein for reciprocating bar 17 from lever 21, comprises a rod 33 eir- V tending along theundersurface of the top 12 and to which'the lug 27 is attached. At in tervals along the'rod 33 are disposed bellcrank levers 341, each having a pivotal mounting on the rod 33 and a second pivotal mount ing on the side or wall 13. The last-referredto pivotal mountings should be provided with sufficient clearance or play, so that the reciprocation or" the rod 33, by means of the '00- bell-crank levers 34 for imparting reciproeating motion to the pins 35 carried by bar 17 and extending through elongated apertures 36 in the wall 13, and which pins contact with the free arms of the bell-crank levers. A suitable spring 3? having connection with wall 13 and pin 88 on bar 17 and extending through wall 13 at aperture 39, yieldingly retains the bar in its normal or depressed position. The walls of the apertures 36 and 39 may determine the limits of reciprocation of the bar 17. Means such as shown at 32 may be employed to obviate disassociation of bar 17 and the frame.

The bar 16 may be referred to as shift bar and the bar 17 may be referred to as a lift bar. The shift bar should have its limits of reciprocation determined by the space, between centers, of the apertures 40 in the sheets. The lift bar should have its limits of reciprocation determined by the thickness of the prongs plus suliicient clearance to permit insertion of a sheet on the prongs of the lift bar, when raised to abnormal or lifted position.

The frame, in which the bars and their actuating mechanisms have been mounted, may be substantially encased in a U-shape back 41, provided with hinged covers 42 and l3, end caps 44 and suitable binding or covering material d5. Any suitable means may be employed for so relating the same. For eX- ample, the flanges 14: and 15 may be riveted or spot-welded to the inner face of the back. Preferably the lever arms are of equal length. If it is desired to use more than a single actuating lever in lieu of the actuating lever 21, the same may be done. When the lift bar is in abnormal position, the added sheets of paper may be introduced by causing the lower edge of the paper to contact the free ends of the prongs on the shift bar, thereby giving support to the lower end of the sheet, and facilitating registry of the apertures in the sheet with the prongs on the lift bar. It is to be understood that instead of elevating the lift bar to attain a relationship of prongs such that additional sheets may be introduced, or sheets may be removed, the prongs associated with the lift bar may be depressed.

To facilitate shifting of a number of sheets, or all of the sheets back and forth between the covers of the-binder, suitable fibre sheets or the like may be mounted upon the prongs and may he immediately adjacent the covers. I

Inasmuch as springs 30 and 37 yieldingly resist movement of the reciprocating bars 16 and 17, and because those springs function to return the bars to their normal positions as soon as they are released, the springs function as automatic means for returning the bars to their normal positions.

in ordinary use of a binder of the'character disclosed herein,.it is necessary to insert and remove record sheets such as 20 and it is necessary to shift one or more sheets 20 along the rows of prongs in order to provide suitable spaces for sheets to be inserted and to close up gaps between adjacent sheets after other sheets have been removed. In order to shift one or a group of sheets along the rows of prongs, the sheets are divided upon both sets or groups of prongs so as to dispose the sheets to be shifted on one site of the binder, and the other sheets are disposed on the prongs on the other side of the binder. The lever 23 is then actuated to move the shift bar 16 and the record sheets thereof, longitudinally of the binder. While the shift bar is held in such shifted position, the record sheets to be shifted are moved over onto the opposed group of prongs, whereupon the lever may be released, and the shifted record sh ets as well as the non-shifted record sheets may be manipulated back and fortn between the sets of prongs. In the event a record sheet is to be inserted or removed, thelever 23 is actuated to move the lift bar 1? to elevate one set or group of prongs relative to the opposed group of prongs, whereupon record sheets may be introduced onto or removed from one of the groups of prongs, and after the lift bar is returned to normal position, the sheets on the groups of prongs may again be moved back and forth between the groups of prongs.

vVhat is claimed is:

1. Ina device of the class described the combination with opposed sets of prongs having overlapping ends and between which sets of prongs, record sheets retained in the device, may be moved bacl: and forth, of means for selectively moving the sets of prongsin directions at right-angles to one another with the ends in overlapping rela tionship for positioning the sets of prongs relative one another to permit removal, insertion and shifting of record sheets.

2. In a device of the class described the combination with sets of staggered prongs in substantial alignment and having overlapping ends, of means for effecting lelfl't-lVii movement of the prongs such that pro: g of one set may be reciprocat-ed in substantial alignment between the other set of prongs and so that prongs of one of the sets may be elevated above the other set of prongs without disturbing the overlapping relationship of the sets of prongs.

3. In a device of the class descri ed, the combination of a frame, a shift bar mouir' d in the framevfor reciprocation in the direction of its length, a lift bar mounted in the frame for reciprocation in a direction at an angle to the line reciprocation of the shift bar, sheet-receiving prongs carried by each of the bars and the prongs of each bar projecting toward the other bar, the prongs having free overlapped ends, a lever associated with the frame and connections be tween the lever and the bars for selectively reciprocating the bars.

4. A loose leaf binder comprising an inverted U-shapc frame having a top, side walls and outwardly extending flanges carried by the side Walls, a bar-associated with each of the flanges and exteriorly of the side wa ls of the frame, means for associating the bars with the frame for reciprocation of one of the bars longitudinally of the frame and the other bar in a direction at substantially right angles to tl e first-mentioned bar, a back member for encasing the frame and together with the frame comprisinga substantially closed chamber, operating means with in the chamber and operable from the ex terior thereof for reciprocating the ,bai's, and sets of sheet-receiving prongs carried by the bars and projecting toward one another,

said prongs, in their normal positions, having free spacer ends, overlapping one another at substantially the center of the device and movable with their respective bars into 25. positions with their overlapping ends aligned lective shifting, insertion and removal of pair of sets of prongs for relative movelongitudinally of the frame, and into-spaced positions with the overlapping ends of one set above those of the other.

5. In a device of the class described the combination with opposed sets of cooperating prongs for record sheets and between which sets of prongs the sheets may be moved.

back and forth, of means for selectively moving the sets of prongs in directions at substantially r1ght-angles to one another for sethe record sheets. 7

6. In a device of the class described the combination of a pair of sets of record sheet receiving prongs, means for mounting the ment, the prongs normally cooperating for providing closed paths along which record sheets may be moved back and forth wlthout detachment or variation in order of arrangement of record sheets relative one another and the sets of prongs, means for moving the sets of prongs relative one another for opening said paths for removal of record sheets from and for mounting recordsheets on the prongs and for rearranging the c osed paths for shifting sheets for attaining variation in order of arrangement of sheets relative one another, and means for automatically returning the prongs to their normal coand the sets of prongs, a-ndmeans for moving the sets of prongs relative one another for opening said paths for removal of record sheets from and for mounting record sheets on the prongs and for rearranging the closed paths for shifting sheets for attaining variation in order of arrangement of sheets relative one another.

8. The combination with a carrier mem ber of a pair of sets of prongs, mounted on the carrier member for movement relative one another, independent of movement of any part of the carrier member, the prongs of each of the sets of prongs having free ends extending toward the free ends of the other set of prongs and being so related that perforated record sheets carried by the prongs may be moved back and forth upon the prongs of both sets of prongs and means for selective relative movement of the sets of prongs for elevating one set of prongs'relative the other set of prongs for insertion of record sheets on and removal of sheets from the prongs, and for moving the prongs of one set laterally of the prongs of the other set whereby the relative positions of record sheets may be varied by movement thereof from one set of prongs to the other set 0 prongs.

9. The combination with a carrier member of a pair of sets of prongs, mounted on the lective relative movement of the sets of prongs for elevating one set of prongs relative the other set of prongs for insertion of record sheets on and removal of sheets from the prongs, and for moving the prongs of one set laterally of the prongs of the other set whereby the relative positions of record sheets may be varied by movement thereof from one set of prongs to the other set of prongs, and means for automatically returning the moved prongs to their initial ornormal positions.

10. A loose leaf binder comprising an inverted U-shape frame having a top and side walls, a bar exteriorly associated with each of the side walls of the frame, means for associating the bars with the frame for reciprocation of one of the bars longitudinally of the frame and the other bar in a direction at substantially right angles to the first mentioned bar, a back member for encasing the frame and together with the frame comprising a substantially closed chamber, operating means within the chamber and operable from the exterior thereof for reciprocating the bars, and sets otsheet-receiving prongs carried by the bars and projecting toward one another, said prongs, in their normal positions, having free spaced ends, overlapping one another at substantially the center of the device and movable with their respective bars into positions with their overlapping ends aligned longitudinally of the frame, and into spaced positions one set above the other.

positions at determinable elevations, whereby.

to permit shifting of record sheets longitudinally of the sets of prongs and to permit mounting and demountmg of such sheets on the prongs, means for moving each set of prongs relative said member and relative the other set of prongs, and means for automatically returning each set of prongs to its orig inal position.

12. In a device of the class described the combination of a mounting member, sets of opposed cooperating prongsmounted on said member and upon Which sets of prongs record sheets may be impaled and moved back and forth, the sets of prongs being mounted for relative movement into and from positions at determinable distances longitudinally of the sets of prongs and into and from positions at determinable elevations, whereby to permit shifting of record sheets longitudinally of the sets 01" prongs and to permit mounting and demounting of such sheets on the prongs, and means for moving the sets of prongs relative to one another, to and from the indicated positions.

STANLEY B. FREIBERG. 

